IMS is pleased that one of our clients has received an excellence award from their main customer; Lockheed Martin.
Read the full story here: PACE Machine
Jan 112013
Jan 182012
IMS have successfully passed their office assessment from UKAS for OHSAS 18001 Health and Safety Management Systems Accreditation.
The next step in the process is to have a witnessed assessment on a willing and able client. We have a couple of new applications in the pipeline which may be suitable but if there are any current clients who do not mind having UKAS witness them being audited then please contact the office.
Thanks to everyone for their support during the process, had some valuable input from some colleagues and associates to IMS.
We will keep everyone posted on the progress
Sep 192011
Some great new customer satisfaction received last week.
9th September 2011-”Keep up the good work”
16th September 2011-”After having experienced British Standards over the past 10 years and having to put
up with the totally disconnected way they work with their clients as well as with each other, it has
been a refreshing experience for all within our organisation to have experienced IMS Internationals
excellent performance this far.”
If you would like to read more of our customer satisfaction please click here
Aug 292011
IMS is experiencing high growth within the aerospace industry and require some additional sub-contract auditors for the AS9100 and AS9120 standards.
If you are interested or know of anyone who would be interested then please contact IMS through the contact details on our website.
Aug 272011
Its many years behind schedule and Millions of Dollars over budget but it looks like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is finally about to take off. The Dreamliner is approximately 50% composite which is relatively new technology when applied to the aerospace industry and probably a large factor in the delays to the aircraft.
I wonder if Boeing get in trouble for late deliveries as I know their suppliers get in trouble?
At an event at Boeing’s facility in Everett, Washington, Administrator Babbitt presented Boeing executives with two certificates for the design and production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with Rolls-Royce engines.
“Today’s achievement could not have been possible without the professionalism and dedication of the FAA team involved in the certification,” said Administrator Babbitt. “The engineers, inspectors and flight test pilots all worked diligently to ensure our high safety standards were met.”
Boeing made its initial application to the FAA on March 28, 2003 and the program was launched in April 2004. The first 787 rollout ceremony was on July 8, 2007 at Boeing’s Everett assembly factory. The airplane first flew on Dec. 15, 2009, and the six flight test airplanes have since accumulated more than 4,645 flight hours, with approximately 25 percent of those hours flown by FAA flight test crews. More than 200,000 hours were logged by FAA technical experts who were involved in the type certification of the 787.
The airplane will use 20 percent less fuel and produce less noise compared to similarly sized airplanes. It was designed and manufactured by suppliers and partners around the world and integrated at final assembly. The 787 incorporates many capabilities of the nation’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen.
The European Safety Agency (EASA) also issued a same day validation of the FAA Type Certificate of the 787.
Aug 262011
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued on Friday 26 August 2011 to Boeing a Type Certificate for the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. This EASA certificate recognises that Boeing has demonstrated compliance to the EASA Type Certification Basis with applicable airworthiness and environmental requirements.
When handing over EASA type-certificate to Boeing, Patrick Goudou, EASA Executive Director said: “This is a great achievement. I am particularly proud of the dedication and efficiency demonstrated by EASA certification teams in dealing with new certification challenges such as the use of composite material which account for more than 50% of the aircraft’s primary structure”.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and EASA worked closely together during the certification of the aircraft, the FAA being the primary authority for all American designs, and EASA the validating authority. Boeing received the FAA Type Certificate simultaneously at a joint ceremony organised Friday in Seattle.
Type certification is a prerequisite to the first delivery to airline customers. The Boeing 787-8 has now completed all certification requirements prior to its entry into service later this year with the Japanese Airline All Nippon Airways (ANA). The first European airline to operate the Boeing 787-8 will be Poland’s national carrier LOT with the first delivery expected in March 2012.
The Boeing 787-8 can carry between 210 and 250 passengers over a distance of 7,650-8,200 nautical miles (14,200-15,200 km). Its in-service record will now be monitored through continuing airworthiness activities.
Above information is courtesy of EASA.
Aug 232011
ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, the standard could influence up to 60 % of the world’s energy use.
Energy is critical to organisational operations and can be a major cost, whatever the activities. An idea can be gained by considering the use of energy through the supply chain of a business, from raw materials through to recycling and thinking about not only the cost impact but the environmental impact.
ISO 50001 will provide public and private sector organisations with management strategies to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs and improve energy performance.
The standard is intended to provide organisations with a recognised framework for integrating energy performance into their management practices and can be integrated with ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 due to its common elements.
For further information on the ISO 50001:2011 standard, download the publication from the ISO Standards website here
May 132011
Indonesia and the European Union have finalised an agreement aimed at ending the trade in illegally-sourced wood.
The agreement will mean that EU companies will only be able to import timber that is certified as complying with Indonesian environmental laws.
The East Asian nation possesses some of the world’s most lavish forests, which in turn support spectacular wildlife.
Currently, European countries import about $1.2bn (£720m) worth of timber and paper from Indonesia each year.
This accounts for about one-sixth of the nation’s exports.
Last year, a major assessment concluded that the rate of illegal logging in Indonesia had declined by about 75% over the preceding decade.
Even so, it said, 40% of the timber harvested was illegal.
This was despite an initiative dating back to 2003 in which the government, alongside environmental groups and some companies, attempted to rein in illegal loggers, processors and exporters.
Meanwhile, the US and EU have recently stepped up measures designed to block wood and wood products of illegal origin.
Wood products as well as raw timber will be included in the measures
The US amended the Lacey Act so that companies are responsible for making sure their imports are legal, and the totemic Gibson guitar company is among those investigated as a result.
Last year, the European Parliament passed legislation with similar components, which comes into effect in March 2013.
Companies wanting to export to the EU will have to be able to track their products from forest to exporting port.
Independent auditors – yet to be appointed – will be charged with verifying that companies’ tracking is up to standard.
These auditors will report back to a joint Indonesian-EU committee.
Although only exports to Europe are covered by the agreement, the EU hopes that setting up the system will help Indonesia curb illegal logging and illegal exports across the board.
This information is courtesy of the BBC
Apr 272011
Further to previous correspondence regarding AS9100 changes, an update to the transition requirements has been made. The deadline for transition remains as the 1st July 2012 and organisations are required to make a formal application to IMS International using the application forms (1 and 1B; both available on the IMS main website); completion of the declaration (also on IMS website) is also required before any auditing activities take place. If you prefer, you are able to submit your own declaration by email, covering letter etc informing IMS that you are conforming to AS9100 revision C.
The days required for AS9100 Rev C transition audits are as follows:
- Transition during surveillance audit using 50% of initial audit day requirements as per IAF MD 5 (this table is available to view within Doc 007 on the IMS website) and 100% of the initial audit day requirements of the current AS9104 standard which is also included within Doc 007.
- Example; organisation with 10 employees who perform design duties: IAF MD 5 requires 2 days for the initial and AS9104 requires 1.5 days. Taking 50% of the IAF MD 5 requirement gives you 1 day. Therefore the total amount of time required would be 2.5 days.
- Transition during recertification audit using 80% of initial audit day requirements of IAF MD 5 and 100% of the initial audit day requirements of the current AS9104 standard.
- Example; organisation with 10 employees who perform design duties: IAF MD 5 requires 2 days for the initial and AS9104 requires 1.5 days. Taking 80% of the IAF MD 5 requirement gives you 1.6 days which has to be rounded up to the nearest ½ day so that takes you back to 2. Therefore the total number of days required would be 3.5 days.
- Additional time is to be applied as necessary and for completion of the new AS9101 Rev D checklist but this will be dependent on each clients process, a formal quotation will be provided when the enclosed application forms and declaration have been returned.
For Multiple Site organisations the transition during their existing audit cycle, IMS are required to:
- Close out the site surveillance audits (including closing and verifying all he NCR’s) against the previous AS9100 B standard.
- Complete the audits to the AS9100C standard for all sites required to be audited for a given surveillance cycle (at least 50% of sites).
- Complete the Central Function (Head Office) audit and the planned sites audits for that surveillance cycle to the AS9100C standard prior to certification.
For Multiple Site organisations that transition during their recertification year, IMS is required to:
Complete the Central Function (Head Office) audit and all sites audits for that recertification cycle to the new AS9100C standard prior to recertification.
If you would like to download and complete the application forms and declarations then visit the IMS website and go to the Documents Page
Apr 152011
IMS International successfully passed their Annual UKAS audit today in order to maintain Accreditation to supply certification services for ISO 9001:2008.
Well done to all the staff at IMS for their efforts in maintaining the systems, lets continue to develop, grow and improve.